Trending Up

New York City Marathon — Manhattan looked like a military state on Sunday during the New York City Marathon. Armed Coast Guard boats escorted ferries around the Manhattan and New Jersey area.

The finish line had fewer spectators this year, and those that were watching had to go through a security checkpoint. Marathoners also had to go through metal detectors, and bomb-sniffing dogs roamed the area.

This is of course all in reaction to the Boston Marathon bombings that killed three people and injured more than 260 others in April. It’s sad that modern American sporting events need to be militarized, but it beats experiencing another tragedy.

LGBTQ rights — Basic civil rights for the gay, lesbian and transgender community seem to be finally gaining traction. The U.S. Supreme Court overruled the Defense of Marriage Act in June, which prohibited legally married same sex couples from receiving federal benefits, and New Jersey became the 14th state to recognize same sex marriage in October.

It’s certainly progress, but 29 states still do not prohibit employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. Arizona only bans discrimination based on sexual orientation in the public sector, but private companies are free to continue with their backwards ways.

The Employment Nondiscrimination Act is currently working its way through the U.S. Congress, and for the sake of humanity, it needs to pass.

Trending Down

Unpaid internship debate — This really should be trending up, but with the lack of recent progress on dismantling unpaid internships that discriminate against students who can’t afford to work for free, this one seems to be on the backburner of American politics.

A federal court in New York ruled in June that unpaid internships must have a specific educational component and cannot help to contribute to the company’s profits.

But why hasn’t this issue been taken nation-wide? The answer is simple: Congress, which could actually change this, relies on a lot of unpaid interns.

In the meantime, universities should be offering grants and scholarships for students who land unpaid internships in an effort to narrow the gap between the students who can work for free and the less fortunate. Free labor is inherently unethical, and since Congress is apparently unwilling to tackle it, it should be taken on by local entities.

Climate change — This should be in the news too, but it’s not. Climate change has been well-documented by scientists for years, and yet, any kind of environmental regulation is meeting stiff resistance in Congress.

Findings from the Pew Research Center show that 67 percent of Americans believe there is solid evidence that the globe is warming, but only 25 percent of Tea Party Republicans have decided to accept scientific evidence as proof. Like with so many issues, the Tea Party needs to wake up.